At Beiguan Army Fort, Art "performed" in the military fort training ground and then summoned Angus and other high-ranking officers to the hall of Tiaoshiwu.
The batch of war horses purchased previously have been put in place, and the corresponding cavalry training equipment was also replenished half a month ago. Now, it's time to start cavalry training.
…Lunicion, Jafar, the horses, weapons and armor required by the cavalry are currently in place. The camp for cavalry training has also been completely handed over to the legion. It is time to start the cavalry training. I wonder how prepared you are." After finishing speaking, Art took a sip of the wine on the table and became energetic.
Lunision stood up suddenly, the sound of the armor on his body rubbing against his body was particularly loud. He said: "Sir, we can't wait for a long time!" He said with excitement in his tone.
“Yes, sir~” Jafar, who no longer stutters, echoed.
At put down his wine glass, "Okay! Since you two captains of the cavalry company are so confident, starting from tomorrow, the training of the cavalry company will officially begin."
"Yes, sir!" The two men accepted the order in unison.
"In addition, Sergeant Major. I would also like to ask you to select some wranglers and veterinarians from the army and assign them to the cavalry company. These military horses are the treasures of the army, and they must be well fed and cannot be neglected."
"Yes, sir. Don't worry."
"In addition, I will also ask the government to provide high-quality fodder for these war horses. Only by feeding them carefully now can they play their greatest role on the battlefield in the future." Art has high hopes for these war horses.
Before leaving, Art also ordered Angus to summon the officers of the legion who were good at riding and shooting. Arrange them as riding instructors for the cavalry company to guide training. Then he led the bodyguard and returned to the valley happily on the newly conquered horse.
………
"Master!"
Early the next morning, Ron hurried to Art's study.
"Master~"
"Why are you so worried?" Art put down the quill in his hand and asked.
"Sir, there is news about the Lombard caravan in the North." Then he handed a note to Art.
Matt glanced quickly. Said: "Great, Stanley finally found that group of bastards before they entered Saône Province. Once they enter Saône Province, the consequences will be endless. Go tell Bob immediately, write a letter to Odo, and ask him to send a joint task force to arrest those bastards for me, and then send them to Besançon and hand them over to the Marquis."
"Yes, sir. I'll do it right away." Ron left quickly.
After Ron left, Art continued to lean on the table and picked up the quill in his hand to write and draw on the Wells paper. However, this time we are not building the framework of the Province of Wales, but considering how to make the people under the rule willingly implement the regulations set by the military and government governments and absolutely obey their own will in order to better manage the territory.
As a provincial earl, if he has no authority in the eyes of his subjects and cannot gain their trust, this will undoubtedly provide the soil for some people who have different ideas to rebel against him in the future.
To rule a territory, you must first make the people in your territory absolutely obey you. In other words, as long as they say something, they will carry it out without hesitation, even if it means going up to the sword or into the sea of fire.
A few years ago, there were no more than a dozen households following him, so it was relatively easy to manage. As long as you provide them with food and land and don't starve, those guys will be loyal to you. But now it is necessary to manage the vast land of Tyniec County and the Valley Territory, and the number of territorial residents has reached more than 30,000. Simply handing over the land to those guys to cultivate and provide them with food may not be enough to make them swear allegiance to you. To truly control people's hearts, in addition to material rewards, spiritual transformation is also needed.
To control people’s spirits, we need to find the answer from their original beliefs.
On the second day, Art called Bishop Robert, who was currently in charge of diocesan affairs in Wales, to his study room, intending to start with this bishop.
Robert has been following Art for a long time, and he often goes out with the army to make suggestions for Art, and he has become Art's think tank. In addition, Robert's status as bishop gave him high prestige and respect among the people of Wales. The reason for this lies in the influence of the church on secular life and the thoughts of believers. As long as the church is firmly in his hands, he will indirectly control the thoughts of the people in his territory. In this way, Art, as Earl of Wales, would combine secular and ecclesiastical power.
On the chair next to the study room, Robert, dressed in bishop's attire, took a glass of wine and savored it carefully. He did not have the solemnity and solemnity that a regional bishop should have.
This person, like Father Hamish, believes that God is in his heart, rather than what those inconsistent clergy preach - he is God's messenger sent to the world, the church is God's representative in the world, and everything the church does and says is correct and cannot be doubted by anyone, otherwise it will be a betrayal of God.
This guy has his own understanding of the Bible and believes that everyone has the right to interpret the Bible. Instead of sticking to the rules and being played by those guys with low moral character in the church, he gave up his life savings to those vampires.
After a while, Art let out a long breath and put down the quill. Robert immediately put down his glass and stood up.
"Robert, no need to be polite, sit down."
"Thank you, Lord Earl."
"I came to you today mainly to ask about the construction status of Wells Cathedral." Art stood up and walked towards Robert with a glass container of wine, and poured wine for him personally.
"Thank you, Lord Earl."
At then picked up his wine glass.
Ding～
The two of them clinked glasses and drank together.
"Your Majesty, the Earl, is busy with official duties, yet he is so concerned about the construction of the church. Thank you for your trouble." Robert said sincerely.
"The church is an important place for people in the valley to pray and confess to God every day. It is closely related to believers. As the Earl of Wales, I should pay more attention to it. Otherwise, they should blame me~" Art squinted at Robert's reaction.
Robert, who is quick-witted, certainly understands the meaning of Art’s last words. He opened his mouth and said with a smile: "The words of the earl are profound. It seems that I failed to fulfill my duties as a bishop, which made the people under the rule of the earl feel dissatisfied."
Hearing Robert's response, Art smiled slightly.
"I'm afraid it's not for the church construction that your lord has called me here." Robert immediately reacted and was filled with admiration for the secretive earl in front of him.
Seeing that Robert had seen through his intentions, Art no longer concealed it. He said: "The one who knows me is Robert."
"What?" Robert looked puzzled. "Is it possible that this is another rhetorical device created by the Earl?"
"What this sentence means is that you, Robert, understand my thoughts best." Art explained.
Robert was also very pleased with himself and smiled.
"I won't hide it from you. The main purpose of calling you here today is to help me unify the thoughts of the people in all parts of the Province of Wales in the future. This will not only facilitate management, but is also crucial to maintaining the stability of the Province of Wales."
Robert suddenly sat upright and listened carefully to Art's thoughts.
“You also know that most of the residents of Wales are recruited refugees from various places. Their backgrounds are very different and their ideologies are not uniform. In this way, once the government and military affairs departments formulate and promulgate regulations that are inconsistent with their vital interests, it will easily lead to their resentment. . Over time, once this kind of emotion breaks out, it will easily lead to civil strife. Currently, the Province of Wales is in dire straits, and there are constant internal and external troubles. If the consciousness of the residents cannot be unified and their efforts can be directed in one place, it will be difficult to make the Province of Wales truly strong.
"Sir, what do you mean~" Robert asked.
"My intention is very clear, to unify the minds of the people of Wales. In their eyes, the words of me, the Earl of Wales, are as effective as what God tells them to do when they pray."
Robert opened his eyes wide and was shocked by the words of the count in front of him. In his eyes, although every believer has the right to interpret the Bible, he has never seen anyone dare to be so bold and want to compete with God for so many years of serving God.
"I think you misunderstood me," seeing Robert's surprise, Art immediately explained, "Although I am not the most devout believer, God and the church are still the supreme existence in my heart~"
Robert came back to his senses. He understood the count's mind better than others.
"It seems that this Earl intends to use the church to establish his status and authority in the hearts of the people in the territory, so as to achieve the purpose of controlling people's hearts." Robert sighed inwardly.
Looking at the young earl sitting on the big leather chair, Robert could not find any reason to refute. Since I was appreciated by Art and single-handedly supported, from an unknown cleric in an unrecognized church to the diocesan bishop of Wales, I should obey the wishes of this lord. What's more, compared with those high-ranking clergy who exploit and exploit believers in the name of God, this guy's character is infinitely nobler.
"In that case, please tell me, Lord Earl, what should I do for you?"
Seeing Robert's enlightenment, Art nodded with satisfaction. Then he expressed his thoughts.
"First, each church should regularly organize people in the valleys and counties to pray together, and take the opportunity to preach to them that only hard work can earn them bread and milk to fill their stomachs..."
"Second, loyalty to the lord is the greatest virtue in the world in the eyes of God. Any act of betrayal will be punished spiritually by God, and the soul will never be able to ascend to heaven after death..."
I hope to become the chosen one sent by God to the land of Wales to manage the secular world..."
Att spoke out his thoughts one by one, and ordered Robert to use these thoughts as the basis for his return and summon all the clergy in Wales to carefully understand the essence of it. Then he preached everywhere, preaching these virtues in the eyes of God to the people.
Once these remarks reach the ears of the people through the hands of the church, the effect will be much better than restricting the people by promulgating a series of decrees and rules.
Now, the church is like an invisible hand, firmly controlled by Art. Whatever the count thinks, he can put it into practice through this hand. To control people's hearts, you only need to find the weaknesses of human nature. For those in the territory, their weakness is God, our Lord above all else.
And Art is the only representative of God in Wales.
………
While the construction of the valley was in full swing, in the city of Cordor in the north, the Welsh Legion task force was competing with Lombard spies in a battle of wits and courage.
“…Sir Stanley, what should we do if those bastards go to the Saône Province before reinforcements arrive from Beaune City?” In a guest room on the second floor of a hotel in Codor City, a member of the Wells Legion task force responsible for monitoring Lombard spies asked Stanley in a low voice, who had one foot on a stool.
Stanley poured all the peas on the plate into his mouth while drinking the beer handed to him by his servant.
The situation proposed by this team member may not happen. Judging from the information that a few people have learned in recent days, this group of Lombard spies almost paid a visit to those noble merchants in Codor who had a certain influence and were secretly dissatisfied with Flanders' rule. He may leave Kodor City and head north at any time. Of course, these people also entered the task force's blacklist. When to clean up, we have to wait for Art to say.
Stanley put down his wine glass and frowned slightly. Said: "Your opinion makes sense, and this is what makes it difficult for us. If we let a few of us take the lives of those bastards, it won't be difficult. But it will be a bit difficult to keep them alive without letting them go to Thorn City."
"How about we inform Viscount Leonde, the garrison officer of Cordor City, about this matter? Let him help us arrest these bastards first."
Stanley suddenly opened his eyes and patted the task force on the shoulder. "You kid, your brain is getting more and more flexible. I think it will work! Viscount Leander has a good relationship with the Lord and is a confidant of the Lord Marquis. Ask him for help with this matter, and he will definitely give his full help."
In the former lord's hall of Kodor City, Leonder was dressed in regular clothes as usual. In addition to dealing with the daily affairs of Kodor City every day, he also dances with swords in the lord's hall. As a mercenary soldier, he never put down his sword. Even though he transformed from an officer to the acting lord of Kodor City, he still couldn't change his old habits.
A few months ago, when Flanders was granted the title of Marquis of Burgundy, he granted all the territories except the city of Côte d'Or and Saône to the counts of each province. The province of Saône was garrisoned by another high-ranking officer of the Legion of Loncia, and the city of Côte d'Or was garrisoned and managed by Leander.
As one of the high-ranking officers of the Longxia Legion, Leonder also received a reward from Flanders, and was granted a castle and five villages around the city of Cordor.
Just as Leander was using the sculptures on both sides of the gate as imaginary enemies to slash at him with his sword, the guards suddenly came to report.
"Report to the Viscount, there are several people claiming to be the Welsh Legion outside the door asking to see you, saying that they have important matters to discuss."
"People from the Wells Legion? Shouldn't they be in the valley to the south? How could they come to the city of Cordor?" Leander muttered in his heart.
"Quick, invite them in immediately~"